Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

The Executive is asked to approve the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 1 October 2020.

The Executive considered the minutes of the meeting held on 1 October 2020.

RESOLVED:

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 1 October 2020 for signing by the Chair.

A copy of the Register of Interest for each Selby District Councillor is

available for inspection at www.selby.gov.uk.

Councillors should declare to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary

interest in any item of business on this agenda which is not already

entered in their Register of Interests.

Councillors should leave the meeting and take no part in the

consideration, discussion or vote on any matter in which they have a

disclosable pecuniary interest.

Councillors should also declare any other interests. Having made the

declaration, provided the other interest is not a disclosable pecuniary

interest, the Councillor may stay in the meeting, speak and vote on that

item of business.

If in doubt, Councillors are advised to seek advice from the Monitoring

Officer.

The Monitoring Officer confirmed that all Members had been granted a dispensation in respect of the disclosable pecuniary interests Members had declared to her.

The Chief Executive stated that  as well as being appointed by Members as the Chief Executive at Selby District Council, they appointed her as  Assistant Chief Executive at North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) for one day a week. To manage the risk of any potential actual or perceived conflict, she had not been involved in the Local Government Reform submission by NYCC and had taken no part in the Management Board at NYCC since July 2020.

Report E/20/20 seeks the views of the Executive regarding the submission of the Case for Change to the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (“MHCLG”) in response to the letter received by all the District Councils from the MHCLG on 9 October 2020 inviting proposals for unitary local government for the York and North Yorkshire area.

The Leader of the Council presented the report which sought the views of the Executive regarding the submission of the Case for Change to the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (“MHCLG”) in response to the letter received by all the District Councils from the MHCLG on 9 October 2020 inviting proposals for unitary local government for the York and North Yorkshire area.

The Leader of the Council stated that North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) had agreed to submit their own proposal on local government reorganisation while the District Councils in the area had come together to submit a joint proposal.

Members discussed the report and the following comments were made during debate:

·       Both proposals should be submitted to the Government to allow them to have options when making a decision.

·       York not being included in the NYCC submission was a weakness for that proposal due it being an important area in the region.

·       Some Parish Councils had highlighted that the NYCC proposal could affect local level  decision making. For example the NYCC proposal would include one local plan for the whole area which could make it difficult to take into account local planning issues.

·       The NYCC proposal could allow services currently running such as children’s and adult social care to be retained rather than having to be set up again as they would be for the District Councils submission.

·       The NYCC proposal would have greater distances between one side of the area to the other compared to the District Councils proposal.

·       There could be a reduction of Councillors in the NYCC proposal and  that could impact local areas detrimentally.

RESOLVED:

That Executive recommend to Council:

i)                To determine that the function of responding to the invitation from the Secretary of the State pursuant to the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 is a function for the Council; and

ii)              To note the letter from the Secretary of State and the issues as set out in this report; and 

iii)             To agree the submission to Government of the Case for Change set out in Appendix 1; and

iv)             To agree to delegate authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council to make the initial submission, in line with the decision above, within the Government’s timescale, i.e. by 9 November 2020; and

v)              To agree to delegate authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council to make any necessary changes to the initial submission and to submit the final submission in line with relevant government guidance within the Government’s timescale, i.e. by 9 December 2020.

Reasons for recommendation:

To ensure that the proposal set out at Appendix 1 is submitted in accordance with the MHCLG timescales to include such further information as required following receipt of the letter dated 9 October 2020.

Report E/20/21 seeks the views of the Executive on the Council Delivery Plan 2020-22.

The Leader of the Council presented the report which sought the views of the Executive on the Council Delivery Plan 2020-2023.

The Executive praised the layout of the plan. In response to a query concerning the process of amending or reviewing the Council Plan, it was stated that this would have to be made by Full Council.

RESOLVED:

To approves the Council Delivery Plan 2020-23 for implementation.   

REASON FOR DECISION:

The Council Plan sets out our ambitions for the district for the next ten years. To ensure we meet those ambitions, and emerge strongly from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is important to set out the priority projects and initiatives that will provide the roadmap for delivery and the milestones that will ensure we know when we are being successful.

Report E/20/22 outlines the financial results and budget exceptions to 30^th September 2020.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources presented the report which reviewed the Council’s borrowing and investment activity (Treasury Management) for the period 1^st April to 30^th September 2020 (Q2) and presents performance against the Prudential Indicators.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources reported that as a result of Covid-19, there was an impact of £3.6m across the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account with the Council receiving £1.1m in funding from the Government to cover the impact however this then left a shortfall for the rest of the costs.

In relation to the current situation relating to the budget at the end of quarter two, it was noted that thee was a £81k surplus in the General Fund and a surplus of £3,380k in the Housing Revenue Account.

In response to a query concerning the grants available for businesses closed due to Covid-19, the Chief Finance Officer explained that there had been an announcement by Government regarding an indication of funding but no details or actual funding had been supplied to date.

RESOLVED:

i)                To endorse the actions of officers and note the contents of the report;

ii)              To approve re-profiled capital programmes and Programme for Growth as set out at Appendices C and D.

REASON FOR DECISION:

To ensure that budget exceptions are brought to the attention of the Executive in order to approve remedial action where necessary.

Report E/20/23 reviews the Council’s borrowing and investment activity (Treasury Management) for the period 1^st April to 30^th September 2020 (Q2) and presents performance against the Prudential Indicators.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources presented the report which reviewed the Council’s borrowing and investment activity (Treasury Management) for the period 1^st April to 30^th September 2020 (Q2) and presents performance against the Prudential Indicators.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources explained that at quarter two, the Council’s investments totalled £73.9m with an average rate of 0.68%.

RESOLVED:

To endorse the actions of officers on the Council’s treasury activities for Q2 2020/21 and approve the report.

REASON FOR DECISION:

To comply with the Treasury Management Code of Practice, the Executive is required to receive and review regular treasury management monitoring reports.